Industrial Management & Data Systems

Brand relationship, consumption values and branded app adoption

Kuo-Fang Peng Yan Chen Kuang-Wei Wen
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Kuo-Fang Peng Yan Chen Kuang-Wei Wen , (2014),"Brand relationship, consumption values and branded
app adoption", Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 114 Iss 8 pp. 1131 - 1143
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Branded app
Brand relationship, consumption adoption
values and branded app adoption
Kuo-Fang Peng
Department of Distribution Management,
National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung, Republic of China
1131
Yan Chen Received 3 May 2014
Department of Information Systems and Management, Auburn University, Revised 10 July 2014
Accepted 11 July 2014
Montgomery, Alabama, USA, and
Kuang-Wei Wen
Information Systems Department, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse,
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La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA

Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine influential factors on branded app adoption from
the perspectives of brand relationship and consumption values. Thus a research model integrating
consumer-brand relationship literature and the theory of consumption values is developed.
Design/methodology/approach Using the survey approach, 245 participants were recruited from
several app market forums and app fan communities. The banking apps issued by three large banks
in Taiwan were used in the research.
Findings The findings support the research model and confirm that brand relationship in terms of
brand attachment and brand identification, and perceived overall consumption values are influencing
factors in branded app adoption.
Research limitations/implications The research advances the understanding of the effect of
brand relationship on branded app use behavior and the functional and non-functional value
components pertaining to branded apps.
Originality/value Little research has investigated if brand-consumer relationship and
consumption values can sustain and continually impact consumers choice in mobile apps.
Keywords Brand relationship, Banking, Branded apps, Consumption value, Use intention
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
The growth trends in smart phone and app marketplaces worldwide have been
remarkable. In 2013, more than one billion smartphone units were shipped worldwide
in a single year for the first time. This was a 38.4 percent increase from 2012 and
the volume has doubled in just two years (International Data Corporation, 2014).
Meanwhile, mobile app marketplaces are also booming. In 2012, worldwide annual
downloads in mobile app stores reached 64 billion and generated $18 billion in revenue
(Gartner, 2013). The forecast predicts that by 2017 worldwide annual downloads
in mobile app stores will reach $268.7 billion (Gartner, 2013). By offering great
opportunities in marketing and branding in mobile apps, the app market is now
attracting more and more big companies with well-known brand names (Banham,
2010). Those companies develop and distribute their own apps and attach their Industrial Management & Data
companies brand names to the apps. We call such apps as branded apps. Companies Systems
Vol. 114 No. 8, 2014
hope that consumers past engagement and experience with the brand can influence pp. 1131-1143
r Emerald Group Publishing Limited
their consumption behaviors in mobile app markets. Moreover, companies realize that 0263-5577
via apps they may market and advertise their various products and services and add DOI 10.1108/IMDS-05-2014-0132
 IMDS new values to consumers. They also hope that by fostering consumers to play and
114,8 interact with their apps, they can make the existing bond between the consumers and
the brand stronger, or develop new bonds with consumers.
On mobile applications, past research has mainly studied the mobile service and
mobile commerce adoption (e.g. Ha et al., 2013; Liang et al., 2007). Little research has
investigated the impact of consumption values and brand relationship on branded
1132 app adoption. Mobile services and commerce are delivered or conducted through
different channels including the mobile app channel, and more recently, the branded
app channel. The actual effects of brand-consumer relationship and the value of
branded apps on consumers app adoption (the channel adoption) are still unclear
due to lack of research in this area. Although studies on those concepts and on the
bonding relationships between the consumers and the brand in traditional markets
have presented a few conclusive findings, it is unclear that if such concepts and
relationships can sustain and continually impact consumers consumption choice
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of mobile apps. Consequently, marketers can only rely on their imaginations to

implement functionalities in their branded apps without much theoretical guidance
and empirical support.
Aiming to fill the above mentioned gaps, this research develops a new model by
integrating the theory of consumer-brand relationship (Blackston, 1992, 1995;
Fournier, 1998) and the theory of consumption values (Sheth et al., 1991). The research
model attempts to uncover influential factors on consumers branded apps use
intention. Our research makes two significant contributions: the proposed research
model reveals the effects of brand relationship and consumer values on branded
app adoption and sheds new light on branded app marketing and development.
The rest of this paper is organized as follows. Second section reviews relevant
literature and the theoretical foundations of the research model, and develops the
hypotheses. Third section describes our research methodology and reports the results
of the data analysis. The last section, discusses the findings, contributions, and
limitations of the study and outlines the directions for future research.

Literature review and model development

Research on mobile applications (apps) adoption
Conventionally, smart devices refer to those handheld devices with operating
systems and mobile communication capabilities, and mobile apps refer to those
software applications installed and executed on smart devices. As mobile apps have
been proliferating on various mobile platforms, both researchers and practitioners
have begun paying close attention to various adoption behaviors on mobile platforms.
Past research has studied the adoption of mobile services, such as mobile banking
service (e.g. Ha et al., 2012), mobile commerce (e.g. Liang et al., 2007), mobile advertising
services (e.g. Parreno et al., 2013), just to list a few. The major theories adopted by
past studies in this area are the well-established technology acceptance models (TAM)
along with its variants such as the theory of planned behavior, and the unified theory
of user acceptance and use of technology model (Ha et al., 2012; Yang, 2013).
Consequently, the past studies mainly identified the influential factors posited in
those models including ease of use, usefulness, perceived control, and subjective
norm along with other factors such as self-efficacy, perceived risk, and culture
(Ha et al., 2012; Yang, 2013).
However, mobile services are often delivered through the increasingly popular
mobile app channel. In order to use mobile apps to access mobile services, consumers
 have to first adopt the apps (the channel). Yet, with some exceptions (e.g. Yang, 2013), Branded app
factors related to the adoption of apps, particularly branded apps, are not well adoption
addressed in past studies. In reality, the major theoretical foundation of this line of
work is still TAM-related models that integrate the TAM with some factors in some
other theories. For example, by integrating the TAM and the uses and gratifications
theory, Yang (2013) studied the influential factors on young American consumers
attitude and intention to use mobile apps and found that perceived enjoyment, 1133
usefulness, ease of use, and subjective norm had positive, significant impacts on their
mobile apps attitude, and that consumers attitude, perceived behavioral control,
and usefulness were the determinants of their intention to use mobile apps.
Mahatanankoon et al. (2005) examined the value proposition of mobile apps
among consumers. By asking survey participants to rank a list of mobile functions
such as sending or receiving e-mails, and receiving and reading news, and using an
exploratory analysis, they found that mobile apps deliver five different values: content
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delivery value, transaction value, location-based value, emergence assistance value,

and entertainment value. However, none of those studies focussed on brand-consumer
relationship and consumption values of mobile apps.
Along with the proliferation of mobile apps in recent years, there has been a rapid
growth in branded apps. Many researchers and practitioners assume that when the
companys brand name is attached to the app, the companys loyal customers
would continually appreciate their relationship with the brand and therefore value
and adopt the app. However, little research has focussed on the actual effects of
brand-consumer relationship and value of the brand on consumers app adoption with
a few exceptions. Bellman et al. (2011) studied the effect of apps use on brand attitude
and purchase intention and found that using popular apps increased participants
interest in the brand and product category. Kim et al. (2013) examined the effects
of attachment to smartphone apps on brand supportive behaviors and the antecedents
of such attachment. They found that brand attachment, determined by self- and
social-connection with mobile apps, positively impacted brand supportive behaviors.
However, branded apps are not the particular focus of these studies.

Brand relationship
Brand relationship theory has become one of the dominant theories in guiding todays
branding and marketing by firms, as well as in helping them gain competitive
advantages. Brand relationship theory argues that a brand is the consumers total idea
and perceptions of a product (Blackston, 1992). A brand develops its personality via
various humanized contacts with consumers, such as products animation, brand
characters, spokespeople, and celebrity endorsement (Blackston, 1992; Fournier, 1998).
As such, the consumer treats the brand as an interactive partner and develops a
relationship with the brand during consumer-brand interactions over time. By
connecting to the brand, consumers seek immaterial, emotional, psychological, and
even sociocultural benefits from the brand in addition to the material values of the
brand (Aurier and Lanauze, 2012). Extant research on brand relationship literature
suggests a myriad of concepts and constructs based on different contexts. Among
various constructs studied in literature, brand attachment, and brand identification
have emerged and become two salient factors in studying brand relationship. Our study
also focusses on these two factors because branded apps always carry the brand name.
We believe studying the impact of these two salient factors on branded apps will be
revealing and could provide insight into the brand name effect in mobile apps market.
 IMDS Brand attachment
114,8 Brand relationship theory points out that during the interaction with a brand, a
consumer can develop positive, emotional feelings such as affection, passion, joy, and
love toward the brand and attach to the brand (Fournier, 1998; Thomson et al., 2005).
This argument leads to the definition of brand attachment as the strength of the
emotional bond between a consumer and a brand (Thomson et al., 2005). In addition,
1134 emotionally attaching to a brand is also associated with great investment in the brand,
indicating consumers are willing to forgo immediate self-interest to promote a
relationship with the brand and stay with the brand (Thomson et al., 2005, p. 78).
A key feature of brand attachment is stimulation and aspiration of the brand. By
linking the brand to an attractive existence, consumers are attached to the brand
to pursue the opportunity of self-expansion (Patwardhan and Balasubramanian, 2013;
Park et al., 2010). Brand attachment was found critical in impacting consumer
behaviors and life-long brand commitment.
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In other words, brand attachment indicates an emotional bond between a consumer

and a brand (Thomson et al., 2005). The bond is built when a consumers utilitarian and
non-utilitarian needs are fulfilled during the interaction with the band (Fournier, 1998).
Such stable relationship not only facilitates cultivation of customer loyalty but also
motivates customers to interact more with the brand. As such, brand attachment
facilitates customers purchase and use decisions. A branded app provides an
additional, very interactive channel between the consumers and the brand, through
which the companys brand image may be reinforced via visual images, animation, or
even games. Another advantage is that the company has more touch points with
consumers via the branded app. Given these potentials, we argue that band attachment
built through other channels can be enhanced via the branded app channel.
Additionally, since branded apps provide anywhere, anytime access to satisfy
consumers utilitarian and non-utilitarian needs, brand attachment could be fostered
and further facilitating their decision on use. Hence, we hypothesize:

H1. Consumers brand attachment is positively related to consumers intention to

use the branded app.

Brand identification
Human beings have a fundamental need of creating a sense of self, or identification. As
consumers, what we buy, own, and consume define us to others as well as to
ourselves (Stokburger-Sauer et al., 2012, p. 406). Socially and relationally, human
beings need a sense of belongingness and sameness, feeling that they share attributes
with relationship partners. Analogously, a brand can share self-definitional attributes
with a consumer and embody, inform and communicate such attributes with
the consumer (Stokburger-Sauer et al., 2012, p. 406). Brand identification captures the
characteristic overlap or similarity between oneself and the brand.
Brand identification may also fulfill consumers needs of self-enhancement
(Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003). By possessing branded products, consumers not only
state their uniqueness and identity but also demonstrate their enhanced identity. For
example, by buying and owning Apple products, Apple consumers express ideal
selves who pursue a life style of simplicity but elegance as Apple pursues its design
philosophy of innovation through simplicity. Thus we can argue that brand
identification gives consumers strong feelings of belongingness and sameness with
the brand. Such feelings motivate consumers to interact and communicate more with
 the brand, and facilitate consumers purchase or use intention and behavior Branded app
(Stokburger-Sauer et al., 2012). adoption
Branded apps are often offered to customers for free with many favorable brand
features embedded. Such features would enhance consumers existing feelings of
belongingness and sameness with the brand, and make them feel cool and connecting
and thus exert positive effects on their use behaviors. Moreover, many branded apps
also provide a social media platform where consumers can express their ideology. By 1135
carrying a cool branded app that shares desirable attributes with them, consumers
could more easily and conveniently connect with the prestigious brand and use the
app. Based on the above logic, we hypothesize:

H2. Consumers brand identification is positively related to consumers intention to

use the branded app.
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Theory of consumption values

Consumers are mostly value driven, rational, and cognitive (Sheth et al., 1991). They
make consumption decisions based on utilitarian values as well as other intrinsic and
extrinsic values. Theory of consumption values focusses on product values and
associated tradeoffs as perceived by consumers (Zeithaml, 1988). The theory argues
that consumers make choice based on the summation of perceived consumption values
which may vary in contributions in different conditions (Zeithaml, 1988). Perceived
value therefore is defined as the consumers overall assessment of the utility of a
product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given (Zeithaml, 1988,
p. 14). Past research has found that perceived value is an antecedent of various
behaviors and behavioral intentions (Turel et al., 2007). Moreover, perceived value is
defined as a formative second-order construct with different value dimensions
depending on the context of a study (Turel et al., 2007; Sheth et al., 1991). While the
component-level value dimensions provide the base for consumers to conduct
the overall assessment of values, perceived value, which is the outcome of the overall
assessment based on the component level, directly impacts consumers behavior and
intention (Turel et al., 2007).
In the context of this study, most branded apps are launched to maintain or
establish a stable linkage between the brand and customers. Mobile apps often
provide additional functions and services over other existing channels. In the banking
industry, mobile banking apps allow customers to access their bank accounts
anywhere and anytime and send instant transaction alerts, delivering additional
values to existing customers. Many mobile banking apps also have functions such as
social platforms, interactive use guide, and even money management games. Using its
brand name, a well-known bank may cooperate with other merchants to extend its
services via its branded app, such as providing trustworthy location-based services. As
a result, consumers are likely to form a positive value assessment of the app. Such a
positive value assessment will give users strong intentions to use the app. Hence, we
hypothesize:

H3. The overall perceived value of the branded app is positively related to
consumers intention to use the branded app.

As discussed above, perceived value includes both functional and non-functional

values and varies in different conditions. Sheth et al. (1991) proposed that perceived
 IMDS value has five dimensions including functional, conditional, social, emotional, and
114,8 epistemic values. Kotler et al. (1999) posited a different set of perceived value
dimensions which comprise product value, service value, personal value, and symbolic
value. Parasuraman and Grewal (2000) proposed a dynamic view of perceived value.
They argued that perceived value has four types including acquisition, transaction,
redemption, and in-use values.
1136 When applying the value dimensions to branded apps in the context of this study,
we selected four value dimensions including quality value, acquisition value, efficiency
value, and emotion value according to the literature review. Among the four value
dimensions, quality value, acquisition value, efficiency value are functional values, and
emotion value is a non-functional value. Functional values capture the functionality
and practical benefits experienced by consumers in evaluating a given product/service
from the economic point of view (Sheth et al., 1991). Non-functional values satisfy
consumers non-utility needs such as emotions and need-satisfying (Sweeney and
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Soutar, 2001; Turel et al., 2007). Non-functional values capture the psychological part of
utility values and are important in consumers choices (Sheth et al., 1991).
Quality value is a functional value from a quality perspective (Turel et al., 2010).
It is consumers evaluation of the utility of the branded app based on their quality
perceptions. Quality value is a key to long-term success and the only thing that
matters in the new business world in terms of delivering consumers values (Sweeney
and Soutar, 2001, p. 203). Quality perceptions also manifest consumers trust in the
brand. Such trust adds a great positive weight to consumers overall value perceptions
(Parasuraman and Grewal, 2000). A branded app is developed or distributed by the
company carrying the brand. The companys rigorous quality control may often
apply to the app, resulting in consumers high-quality perceptions of the app.
Branded banking apps may also adopt more rigorous security mechanisms to
ensure transactions/services security and to protect their band names, resulting
in consumers good quality perceptions. Accordingly, we argue that consumers
high-quality value perceptions of the branded app will increase their overall value
assessment of it:

H4a. Consumers perceived quality value of the branded app is positively related to
their overall perceived value of the app.

Acquisition value is the net benefits of a transaction compared to the monetary cost
that the consumer spends on the transaction from the economic point of view
(Parasuraman and Grewal, 2000; Sweeney and Soutar, 2001). It is also a functional
value that consumers assess what they actually get from the transaction (Parasuraman
and Grewal, 2000). In the current context, since most branded apps are offered for free,
the value deduction from price is minimal. Meanwhile, as we mentioned above, since
many apps add functions such as customer service and money management,
consumers can get more values when acquiring a mobile banking app. Moreover, many
branded bank apps deliver valuable coupons and discounts from reputable partner
merchants to users. Those additional functions provided by the app satisfy consumers
needs for the service and service performance, resulting in their increased value
perceptions. Hence:

H4b. Consumers perceived acquisition value of the branded app is positively

related to their overall perceived value of the app.
 Efficiency value deals with time resources for getting the service (Mathwick et al., Branded app
2002). Transactional efficiency and time saving are important factors for customers adoption
to perceive values given a consuming task. Seeking convenience and saving time
obviously are two major reasons that consumers attempt to use an app issued by a
brand name bank. Many branded apps in banking are to provide such efficiency to
consumers by saving their waiting time and offering instant service. By providing
some online interaction tools, many branded apps may also save customers time when 1137
customer service is needed. Therefore, we expect that consumers will perceive a
greater overall value of the app as they have greater perceptions of efficiency of using
the app. Hence:

H4c. Consumers perceived efficiency value of the branded app is positively related
to their overall perceived value of the app.
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Emotion value is the degree of pleasure obtained by customers during their use of a
product. The more pleasure consumers receive from the product, the higher value they
perceive of it (Petrick, 2002). Past research found that when consumers received joys
from consumption of a product, those joys added the hedonic value to the total package
of the product (Chiu et al., 2014). In marketing, advertisements are often designed to use
various media technologies to arouse emotional responses to the branded product and
thus increase the value of the product (Sheth et al., 1991). A branded app carries not
only the brand name of the company, but also the design esthetics of the brand. As a
result, consumers could transfer their love affair with the brand to the app. Moreover,
with the resource and support from the company, a branded app often utilizes
advanced app technology to ensure that its functions are both functional and
entertaining, continually satisfying consumers emotional needs. Consumers
emotional responses to the app will increase their overall value perceptions.
Therefore, we hypothesize:

H4d. Consumers perceived emotion value of the branded app is positively related to
their overall perceived value of the app.

In sum, drawing upon brand relationship literature (Blackston, 1992; Fournier, 1998)
and the theory of consumption values (Sheth et al., 1991; Zeithaml, 1988), we developed
an integrated research model as shown in Figure 1. This model argues that the bonding
relationships between the consumers and the brand in terms of brand attachment
and brand identification impact the consumers intention to adopt the branded app and
that their aggregated value perceptions on the branded app also impact their adoption
intention. The model further points out that the consumers overall value perceptions
of the app are based on their assessment of the apps multiple value dimensions.

Research methodology and data analysis

We used survey methodology to empirically test the research model and hypotheses.
We developed a survey instrument based on an extensive literature review and
followed the guidelines suggested in IS literature (e.g. Straub et al., 2004). Most of our
measures were adopted from the literature and adapted to fit the current context of the
study. Items to measure brand attachment and brand identification were adapted from
Park et al. (2010). Items for the four reflective consumer value constructs were adapted
from Sheth et al. (1991), Parasuraman and Grewal (2000), and Mathwick et al. (2002).
 IMDS Brand Relationship
114,8 Brand
Attachment
H1 (+)

Brand H2 (+) Intention to

1138 Identification Use Branded
Apps
H3 (+)
Second Order

Perceived
Value

H4a (+) H4b (+) H4c (+) H4d (+)

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First Order

Figure 1. Perceived Perceived Perceived Perceived

Quality Value Acquisition Value Efficiency Value Emotion Value
Research model

Perceived value is a formative construct and indirectly measured by the four reflective
consumer value constructs (Turel et al., 2007, 2010). Demographic items were also
added to the survey questionnaire. A five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly
disagree to strongly agree was used for each item in the instrument except for those
demographic items.
A pilot test was first conducted among several scholars, practice professionals, and
app users, and the feedback was used to refine the instrument. The apps used in the
survey were launched by three well-known banks in Taiwan. For each bank, we
created a short description including a screenshot of the banks app, main
functions/services of the app, and our survey link at the end. We randomly selected
one of three descriptions and posted it in several online app market forums and apps
fan communities to solicit survey participants. A small gift was used as an incentive.
Totally, we recruited 245 participants. The mobile platforms used by the participants
included Android (46.9 percent), Windows family (36.7 percent), Apple iOS
(12.2 percent), and others (4.2 percent). In total, 71 percent of the participants were
female and 29 percent were male. Since there was an uneven gender distribution in the
sample, t-tests were conducted among the focal constructs. No significant differences
were found between the female and male respondents. 87.7 percent of the participants
were younger participants (age 18-25). However, this distribution is consistent with
that of the current Taiwanese mobile device market.
Partial least squares (PLS) method was used to test the measurement model and the
structural model. PLS is a suitable statistical technique for our study since it handles
formative second-order constructs and places minimal restrictions on construct
distributions (Chin et al., 2003). Moreover, in PLS, the identification of formative
construct is not an issue since when interpreting the results of a PLS model, we focus
on the weights rather than the loadings of a measure (Chin, 1998).
We first checked the measurement. All reflective latent constructs demonstrated
good psychometric properties. A check of construct reliability for all first-order,
reflective constructs was conducted. As shown in Table I, the Cronbachs a values
ranging from 0.73 to 0.93 were all greater than the recommended cut-off value of 0.70,
 the average variance extracted (AVE) values ranging from 0.65 to 0.93 were also Branded app
all greater than the threshold value of 0.5, and the composite factor reliability adoption
values ranging from 0.85 to 0.97 were again all above the threshold of 0.5.
The results support the constructs reliability (Straub et al., 2004; Segars, 1997).
We then assessed the constructs convergent and discriminant validity. All items
were loaded to the constructs as expected, all loadings were 40.70, and no
cross-loadings on the constructs were 40.4. Therefore, we confirmed the constructs 1139
convergent validity (Straub et al., 2004). The discriminant validity was confirmed as
each square root of AVEs (on the diagonal in Table I) was higher than the correlations
with other constructs. Overall, our measurement for the reflective constructs
is valid. Additionally, the weights from the four reflective value dimensions to
the second-order formative construct, perceived value, were all significant at the
0.001 level, indicating high-content validity of the second-order formative construct
(Chin, 1998).
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The bootstrapping resampling procedure in PLS was used to estimate the structural
model and test the hypotheses. As shown in Figure 2, all hypotheses were significant at

Inter-construct correlation matrix

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AVE CFR Cronbachs a

1. Acquisition 0.89 0.80 0.92 0.87

2. Attachment 0.55 0.97 0.93 0.97 0.93
3. Efficiency 0.62 0.41 0.86 0.75 0.90 0.83
4. Emotion 0.67 0.46 0.63 0.90 0.81 0.93 0.88
5. Intention 0.65 0.60 0.54 0.60 0.89 0.80 0.92 0.87
6. Quality 0.54 0.38 0.48 0.45 0.39 0.94 0.88 0.93 0.86
7. Identification 0.34 0.48 0.25 0.36 0.49 0.18 0.81 0.65 0.85 0.73 Table I.
Inter-correlation matrix
Note: Italic font values on the diagonal of the correlation matrix are the square root values of AVEs and reliability checks

Brand
Attachment
0.235**

Brand Intention to Use

0.204**
Identification Branded Apps

R 2=55.9%
0.473***

Perceived
Value

0.188*** 0.356*** 0.305*** 0.348***

Perceived Perceived Perceived Perceived

Quality Value Acquisition Value Efficiency Value Emotion Value Figure 2.
Model estimation
Notes: n=245. ***,**Significant at 0.001 and 0.01 level, respectively
 IMDS least at the 0.01 level, strongly supporting the proposed research model. H1 and H2
114,8 hypothesizing the association between brand relationship and use intention of branded
apps were supported with a path coefficient of 0.235 and 0.204, respectively. The link
between perceived overall value and use intention of branded apps (H3) was
significant at the 0.001 level with a path coefficient of 0.473. The effects of perceived
quality value, perceived acquisition value, perceived efficiency value, and perceived
1140 emotion value on perceived value were all significant at the 0.001 level (H4a-H4d). The
two-brand relationship constructs and the perceived value together explained
55.9 percent of the variance in use intention of branded apps, indicating a good
explanatory power of the model.

Discussion and conclusion

Drawing upon brand relationship literature (Blackston, 1992; Fournier, 1998) and the
theory of consumption values (Sheth et al., 1991; Zeithaml, 1988), we developed an
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integrated research model in which the effects of brand relationship and perceived
consumption value on use intention of branded apps were investigated. To empirically
test the model, we surveyed 245 participants recruited from online app market forums
and communities in Taiwan. The data analysis results supported all the hypotheses,
strongly supporting our conceptualization of the research model. Our findings related
to brand attachment and brand identification are consistent with brand relationship
literature, indicating that relational marketing strategy plays a crucial role in
promoting branded app use. We also found that the overall value perceived by
consumers is a salient factor in consumers use intention of branded apps. Moreover,
our findings provide useful insights into what kind of value components should be
included in branded app development to increase the consumption value of an app.
In detail, our findings indicated that branded apps need to satisfy consumers
functional needs such as efficiency and emotional needs such as joys.
Our research makes both theoretical and practical contributions. Theoretically, this
research integrates brand relationship and the theory of consumer values into
a validated research model which advances our understanding of the antecedents of
branded app use behavior. The research points out that consumers overall value
perceptions may depend on various functional and non-functional value components
related to the context of a study. The model also enhances our understanding of the
functional and non-functional value components pertaining to branded app adoption in
the banking industry. Practically, this study sheds new light on branded app marketing
and development. Companies which launch their branded apps need to take advantage
of the established brand name and continually focus on promoting their brand image,
thus arousing consumers feelings of love and self-enhancement toward the app.
Companies also can take advantage of consumers value perceptions toward branded
apps and promote more brand name products and services via the mobile app channel.
For the banking industry, in addition to offering common mobile app functions such
as account management, balance inquiry, and paying bills, a well-known bank may use
its band name to provide additional value-added services via its branded app channel.
For example, a bank can cooperate with other merchants on its branded app to promote
location-based services and advertise coupons and discounts to expand customer touch
points and increase revenue sources of the bank. Moreover, companies may need to
survey users on their unique attitudes and values of mobile app and incorporate the
findings into app design. As a result, their customers would develop a stronger sense of
belongings and sameness when interacting with the app and consequently develop
 a long-term, loyal relationship with the brand via the app. Finally, branded apps should Branded app
embed more security features and provide a more trustworthy online transaction adoption
environment, thus ensuring and enhancing the quality, reliability of branded
products/services.
As the study stands, it has some limitations which might be addressed in future
research. The sample contains a majority of younger respondents. Although this may
reflect the reality of banking app population being dominated by young population 1141
with an age range of 18-19 (Duggan and Rainie, 2012), cautions should be taken when
generalizing our findings into other populations. This limitation may be addressed by
conducting the research among heterogeneous populations. In addition, our data are
cross-sectional, common method bias might be a limitation of this study. A future
longitudinal study might mitigate this limitation.
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About the authors

Kuo-Fang Peng is an Assistant Professor at the National Chin-Yi University of Technology,
Taiwan. His research focusses on e-commerce and e-business. His works have been published
in Industrial Management & Data Systems (IMDS), and some Taiwanese journals, including
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Information and Management Science, Electronic Commerce Studies, and Information

Management Research.
Dr Yan Chen is an Assistant Professor at the Auburn University at Montgomery, USA.
Her work has focussed on information security and privacy, human-computer interaction, and
e-commerce. Her research has been published or accepted in journals including Journal of
Management Information Systems and Journal of Computer Information Systems. Dr Yan Chen
is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: ychen3@aum.edu
Dr Kuang-Wei Wen is a Professor of information systems at the University of Wisconsin-La
Crosse, USA. His research areas are mainly in information security, e-business values, and
mobile commerce. He has published in many academic journals including Management Science,
Journal of Management Information Systems, and Journal of Computer Information Systems.

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